Then and Now
by iamsoproh
Summary: Chris has had everything going for him since he met Chef - sure, he's now popular and seemingly well liked but, for once, he actually has a friend to look up to. Until one Valentine's day when it all goes wrong. High School - after season 5, Oneshot, Chref with a few other things at the end. T for smoking, bullying/violence, and mild adult themes.


**A/N: Hello friends! So, this wasn't what I was originally going to do for a Valentine's Day story, but I just kept coming up with a bunch of different ideas that eventually compiled themselves into this story (and I just really love Chref), so… enjoy! :)**

**Warnings: Rated T for smoking, bullying/abuse, implied death, mild language, and subtle adult themes. Do not read if any of these trigger/disturb you. **

**Disclaimer: I think that most people understand at this point that I do not own Total Drama. **

**/(._.)/**

It was a busy morning in the small town on the outskirts of Ontario; it seemed as if all was moving extra fast, as if the town was filled to the brim with even more hype than it was used to. The air smelled of roses, and the décor lining every workplace window was a sickening shade of pink. As anyone living in such a town could have guessed, it was Valentine's Day: a day where one would celebrate either their singularity or their current relationship – sometimes a combination or neither of the two. At the High School right in the center of town, the students were celebrating with perhaps even more gusto than their parents.

In the main hallway, the number of couples making out against the lockers was triple what it was on any other day; a specific group of popular kids was handing out cards, attempting to kiss up to as many people as possible; and the student government was trying to sell last-minute tickets to the dance, for a raised price, of course. Through all of this, there was a short, rather skinny teenager strolling through with the utmost confidence. Enter Chris McLean, considered a geek, a wannabe, an outcast, until maybe a year prior. He was well groomed and decently dressed; when he would wave to a classmate, they would wave back, either just to make him happy or because he had a big reputation, but Chris would never know which.

The junior boy of 17 made his way down the hall, flashing smiles at everyone he knew, making his way towards the group of students that he had called his friends for the past year. The group that Chris was headed for was typically referred to as the 'Gangsters', or just the 'kids that you didn't want to mess with'. They came from the bad part of town, but in reality hardly any of them were in a gang, and only one or two of them would truly be willing to beat someone up. Under normal circumstances, these very one or two students would have attacked tiny Chris like a fresh piece of meat; Chris, however, was not a normal circumstance.

"Hey, Chris," One of the senior boys rolled his eyes as said junior walked over to his group, sporting bright eyes and a cocky smile. "'sup?"

"Eh, nothin' much, dudes," Chris replied while shrugging his shoulders, "same old same old, I guess."

"Got any plans made for tonight?" a younger freshman asked, making a reference to the dance which Chris obviously didn't pick up on.

"Uh, I think that Chef and I have our usual driving around town… other than that, not really!"

The freshmen had never understood the relationship between this small, middle-class junior and the toughest 19-year-old on their side of town; it was one of those things that had to be seen to be understood, and even then it was too difficult to describe. Despite this, it was never questioned, and Chris was never to be bothered by it; the others knew the consequences from Chef that they would face if they were to ever lay a finger on the kid.

The group made small talk amongst each other and with Chris until the bell rang for class, and they all went their separate ways. Twenty minutes later, Chris found himself absorbed in his own thoughts as his English teacher, lecturing at the front of the room, droned on and on about the novel that he had already read. For reasons that he couldn't understand, he found himself thinking about his best friend; before he knew it, he was drifting off…

/(._.)/(._.)/(._.)/ (Flashback)

Chris and Chef had met just over a year ago, when Chris was a sophomore and Chef a senior at the very same school that Chris was still attending. Chris, contrary to what you may believe, wasn't the same chill, semi-popular teen that he would become a year later. He was actually a rather quiet, reasonably intelligent kid; unfortunately, this would often cause him to be outcast by his classmates. Although he wished that he had some friends – even just one – he always just ended up just keeping to himself, walking the halls alone. Ironically enough, this loneliness was what allowed him to meet his first real friend.

It was one Tuesday afternoon in late January. About two weeks prior, Chris' History teacher had asked them to pair up for a report. Being the odd one out, of course, Chris was made to stay after school and get help in the library, as he didn't have a partner to work with; it was lame, but Chris just wasn't in the mood to argue at the time. As he finished another line of the far-too-boring essay, he looked up at the clock.

"Ugh, 5:00 already. I should've been out of here half an hour ago!" He slammed his books shut, enjoying the sound that represented the end of his workday. He began to stomp out the door of the library when he was caught off guard by something he rarely heard: a voice speaking towards _him_.

"Whoa; you seem pretty mad at those books, kid." Chris turned to face the speaker. He was a tall, buff teen, standing back near the computers with his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.

Being as socially awkward as he was at the time, Chris wasn't entirely sure how to respond. "I, you know… uh… just glad to be able to go home, I guess," he replied, pointing his eyes downwards.

The other teen grinned at Chris' awkwardness. "You seem… not so bad. What were you doing here so late, anyways?"

"I had to work on an essay…" Chris began, beginning to feel comfortable speaking to this man. "What about you?"

"Eh…" The older teen looked around to make sure that no one was looking before pulling out two large packs of cigarettes. "I have to sell some of these. Gotta make money somehow, you know?"

"Oh," Chris replied, not quite used to anything having to do with smoking or tobacco. He was unfazed however, and was hopeful that he would be able to continue the conversation until the larger man interrupted his thoughts.

"Speaking of these things, I'd better get going; this school will be empty in about an hour or so. Nice talking to ya, though." He turned around and began to walk farther into the library before Chris stopped him.

"W-wait! I'm Chris, what's your name?" Chris asked, attempting to cover up his nervousness with a grin.

"Oh, just call me Chef. See ya around, Chris!"

/(._.)/

From that point on, every day that Chris had to stay late in the library, he would be sure to wait an extra half hour; and every time, without fail, he would be sure to start a conversation with his friend Chef. Were they friends? Chris assumed that they were. It seemed like they told each other everything: their families, their futures, or simple topics such as what they had for lunch that day. Chris talked about his family: his mom and dad, miserable but still together, both with decent paying jobs yet little attention to spend on their only son.

"It's just been me and my mom for a while now," Chef had said one day. His two older brothers had run off with a gang years ago, leaving just Chef and his mom to support each other.

Overtime, their friendship extended past those long hours in the library. They hung out on weekends as well, and at school if they could manage. When Chef decided to introduce Chris to his other friends, the younger was immediately nervous; could he possibly make more friends? When he met them, he immediately felt better. They were all rather nice to him! What he didn't know was that Chef had threatened them beforehand… but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right? Chris earned himself a reputation around the school – rather, Chef earned him a reputation – which only helped to inflate his ego.

Chef graduated with decent grades that year, but he never stopped hanging out with Chris; if anything, the bonds between them continued to grow stronger. They were together almost every day after school, and almost every weekend. There was never one without the other; it was always Chris **and** Chef.

Everything was perfect… at least, for a while.

/(._.)/(._.)/(._.)/ (end flashback)

"…so, what do you think about the theme of fear in the book, Chris?"

"Uh… wha… oh, um, it allowed the characters to be drawn towards and connect with each other, ma'am." Chris replied groggily. The teacher frowned at the fact that Chris knew the answer even after his nap, but carried on with the lesson anyways.

Chris drifted through the rest of the day, not entirely paying attention to or caring what anyone else had to say to him; he would be talking to his best friend in a few hours, anyways. As the bell ending seventh period, the last class of the day, rang, Chris got up out of his seat and nonchalantly made his way towards the front doors of the school. His confident grin grew when he saw Chef's blue pick-up truck waiting outside for him and, now smiling wide, he made his way towards it.

"Hey, dude!" He said, sitting down and closing the door. "What's up?"

"Hey, Chris," Chef said, turning to smile at his younger friend. "You know, not much; just a usual day for me." Out selling meat on the street corner, most likely. "So, anywhere you wanna go tonight?"

"Burger joint, dude; the best one in town! Come on, let's go!"

The pair ended up doing much more than that. After they cruised around the town a little bit, they stopped briefly for burgers and milkshakes before going to the theater for a movie. It was a prison flick, supposedly the hottest film of the year, filled from start to finish with famous actors from the time. It was getting late by the time the movie let out: it was past 10, and even that missed school dance would be getting out soon.

"Heh, that movie was pretty cool, right, dude?" Chris asked, nudging his friend.

"Yeah… yeah, sure, Chris…" Chef replied, not fully paying attention. Thinking back on it, Chef hadn't really been paying attention the whole night; was there something on his mind? Sure enough, when they were passing by the dumpsters, Chef grabbed his friend's arm and stopped him. "Look, Chris, there's… somethin' I gotta tell you..."

Chris looked up with wide eyes, waiting to hear what was so troubling that it could trouble even the toughest man he knew.

Chef cleared his throat before speaking. "Well, money's been tight lately and… I've joined the army. I have to leave for training in two weeks, and after that… I probably won't see you for a while, kid. I'm sorry."

Chris could only stare up in shock. 'You're… l-leaving me? I can't be alone again! What am I supposed to do without you?' – At least, that's what he would have said, if he weren't so blinded by sadness and rage. Chef bent down to try to give him a hug, but Chris stepped away.

"Let's just go…"

/(._.)/

The ride home was silent, the airport two weeks later was silent, and both friends were silent the entire time. Still, Chris donned a fake smile and was determined to keep his head held high; until school the next day, when the small, remaining piece of his world came crashing down. He would wave at people, but most would just ignore him or even snicker at his attempts to be social.

"Uh, hey, bros," he said nervously to his group of so-called friends; immediately, the same senior boy from before stepped up to the front of the group to glare at the smaller boy.

"What are you doing here, Chris?" He asked, ignoring the freshmen of the group glancing nervously at each other.

"I-I'm here to hang out like always, dudes… a-aren't we friends?" Chris asked, already fearing the answer.

"Oh, please; we never would have been so nice to you if Chef hadn't made us. In fact… since I'm in charge now, I think it's time that we taught you a little lesson. Let's take him out back, boys," he said, gesturing to the two freshmen from before.

"Um… I'm not really sure that-" one of them began.

"It'll be you next," the senior growled. At that the freshmen grabbed a struggling Chris and carried him out back for their new leader to do his work.

"I'm real sorry about this, buddy," one said, dropping him near the dumpsters. As the senior joined them out back, all Chris could think about was how he wanted things back to normal – how he wanted Chef back.

/(._.)/

Two hours later, Chris had dragged his scratched, bruised body back home; he couldn't face the rest of the school day like that. The sadness in his mind had been replaced by rage – why did other teens get to be happy, have friends, and be in love, while he was forced to suffer through this? He hated those other teens with everything in his heart and mind. One day, he would have revenge.

From that point on, Chris McLean was never the same again. His grades dropped and, although the other boys never bothered him again, he still continued to plot his revenge towards them, towards all teens who ever had the nerve to be happy. Chris wasn't just sad, he wasn't just mad; he was practically psychotic.

After graduating High School – barely – Chris went to a small community college, where he helped start a boyband that would soon enough become famous. This was Chris' first taste of fame, and to say that he liked it would be an understatement; he had as many "friends" as he could ever need, and there were people who admired him. Unfortunately, as happens with boybands, they were disbanded in their mid-twenties. Chris got a starring role in a badminton movie, but that role only got him another year or two of fame. After that came a short-lived cooking show and a couple of bad movies about talking cats, but after that, the name "Chris McLean" slowly died out… that is, until his agent called one day out of the blue.

"Ugh… whaddya want, bro, it's only… 10 in the morning!"

"Chris, my man, have I got a gig for you!" Now, Chris hadn't had a gig in more than a year; however, he couldn't let his manager see how eager he was to be famous again.

"Huh, I see we have another producer just falling all over themselves for a piece of McLean, aren't I right?"

"Um, they actually offered the job to my other client, Blaineley O'Halloran… but she turned it down. Anyways, all you have to do is host a reality show for teenagers. It should be a snap for you after that odd incident with the cats…"

Chris frowned. "Hey, we agreed never to bring that up again! Anyways, I hate teenagers, you know that!"

"That's exactly why I called you instead of Josh! The job basically involves putting the teens through a handful of horrifying and gruesome challenges for the entertainment of others."

At this, Chris froze; could this be the opportunity for revenge that he had looked for his whole life? "Hmm… you know what; I think I'll take it!"

"Excellent!" His agent replied. "Oh, and one more thing: you have to find a cohost."

/(._.)/

"A cohost, huh?" Chris mumbled to himself as he drove through the streets of the small, decorated town. Sure, he was famous; sure, he had hundreds of coworkers and admirers who he called friends; and yet, there was no one who he could ask to take this job with him. He had paced around his house for an entire two hours before deciding to make his way down here; he had had to convince himself that this was the right thing to do. He gulped as he passed his old school and entered the bad side of town, knowing that he was getting close. 'What if he's not even here anymore?' Chris asked himself, 'or worse: he still hates me.' That thought was enough to almost make Chris turn his car around; he didn't, however, and he soon saw a strange little stand on the side of the road. Standing there was a tall, buff man, only a little older than himself, attempting to sell what looked like road kills. 'Oh, man, how am I supposed to do this, how should I-'

"Chris?"

'Crap, I knew I should have gotten tinted windows.' Chris rolled down his window to talk with his old friend. "Oh, uh… hey, buddy. Yeah, it's me. So… how's it going?"

Chef raised an eyebrow and gestured to the table stacked with not-so-fresh-looking meat. "Um, not so great. You, on the other hand, seem to be doing just fine."

"Yeah, about that…" Man, this was turning out more awkward than he had thought it would be. Chris sighed before continuing. "Look, long story short, I've been offered a hosting gig and I need a cohost. Are you in?"

Chef shrugged. "Well, it's just me now, and any job is better than this, so… sure, I'm in."

Chef walked over to the driver's side and, almost on instinct, Chris moved over to allow him to take the wheel.

"Where to, kid?"

/(._.)/

So, the pair began their hosting journey together: torturing teens, and slowly becoming friends again. Sure, it was awkward at times – how could it not be? – but the awkwardness was added to by the fact that it always felt like something was missing. Five seasons later, and Chris still wasn't sure about anything: Chef had rejected his offer to see a movie with him, yet risked his life to save him from Zeke? Chris got to pondering this even harder than usual one day.

It was Valentine's Day and, to up the drama and therefore ratings, Chris had "invited" (forced) all 38 cast members to a temporary island to spend the day. Rather than sit around and ponder his own problems, Chris decided that it was time to go dig up some dirt on some teenagers. He passed a bench where Tyler, Sam, and Geoff were all sitting in a row making out with Lindsay, Dakota, and Bridgette, respectively. "eh, nothing new," Chris yawned and rolled his eyes.

Out in a grassy area, Eva and Lightning were tossing around a football. Chris watched for a while, hoping a fight would break out, but it never did. He noticed Dawn and B giggling and watching birds and squirrels over by the tree line. "Ugh, two heroes. Boring." He went to find Courtney, hoping that she would have some drama for him, but nope! She, Gwen, Scott, and Cameron were all sitting together, making _friendly chatter_. Gross.

Something interesting caught his eye eventually: Duncan and Zoey were cuddling under a tree, with Mike watching alone from a distance. Chris made sure to record a bit of the misery before carrying on. Chris passed the new outhouse confessional and heard some… interesting noises coming from inside. He heard some phrases uttered in Spanish, and decided that he didn't need to investigate further.

Chris was wrapping up his walkthrough of the campgrounds when he heard some loud banging noises from behind the dumpsters. Having already discovered where Al and Heather were… um… "Celebrating" their Valentine's Day, he decided to check up on this one. Quietly sneaking over behind the dumpsters, he saw one of the biggest surprises of his young adult life. Brick and Jo were making out passionately against the dumpster; rather, Jo had Brick pushed up against it, but he seemed to be enjoying himself nonetheless. Things were just starting to get steamy when Jo sensed Chris' presence.

"What the- MCLEAN!? What are you doing back here!?" Jo yelled.

"Umm, Jo? Maybe we should –" Brick began, his face burning red.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go, Dampy." With that she grabbed his hand and stormed off, mumbling something obscene about Chris.

"Uh, I wouldn't use the confessional if I were you!" Chris called after them, giving Brick a thumbs-up in the process.

Making sure Jo wasn't looking, Brick awkwardly returned the gesture before following after the Jockette. Just as the couple left Chris' field of view, Chef came into it, staring at the two as he passed.

"Whoah, really? Those two?" Chef asked in disbelief.

"Heh, yeah. I was so shocked I forgot to film!" The two laughed together for a minute before they seemed to notice where they were.

"Huh. I guess… this scene feels familiar, right?" Chris began, his normally confident eyes cast downwards.

"Yeah… look, Chris, this should have been said a long time ago, but… I'm real sorry for leaving you like that, all those years ago. I didn't want to leave, but I needed the money, and…"

Chris would have said something along the lines of "took ya long enough to apologize" or "yeah, great, bro," but he couldn't. For the first time in years, words evaded the cocky host, and all he could do was embrace his friend as he should have all those nights ago; all he could do was kiss him as he should have all those nights ago.

And in that moment, all that had happened from then until now didn't matter; everything would work out alright from now on.

**/(._.)/**

**A/N: That ending was cheesy XD Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this late Valentine's Day story! As this is my first time writing Chref, feedback is much appreciated. Thanks so much for reading! :)**

**~iamsoproh**


End file.
